The Ties That Bind Us
by Siren Alecto
Summary: It's AC 200 and seemingly peaceful. But what happens when the past meets up with the present for the G-boys? CHAPTER 6! Finally!
1. Pasts Collide

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I?  
  
Author's note: This is my first fanfic so go easy on me please? Yes, I know that there are hundreds of GW fics where the boys meet conflict and fall in love with the girls they fight with, and that some of them are really great fics, so how could I possibly top those? Well..... there isn't a fic out there quite like this one, and the only reason I'm writing it is because it won't leave me alone. I guess you would really classify this as an Alternate Universe kind of fic, it mixes the TV series and the manga with some original characters added for confusion. I don't really think I'm a good author so please no flames? Constructive criticism I can handle so lots of that, and if you have any suggestions for making it better I'd love to hear them. Um..... so enjoy the fic.  
  
  
  
  
  
The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Chapter 1 - Pasts Collide  
  
  
  
June  
  
AC 200  
  
Preventer Headquarters  
  
17:00  
  
Lady Une looked up from her paperwork at the sound of her door being abruptly thrown open. Her surprised expression met the two women who came through the door of her office with determined expressions on their faces.  
  
The first one through the door was 5'9 with silky black hair down to her thighs and purple eyes. The one that followed her was about the same height with waist length fiery red hair in a braid and minty green eyes. Both women had hard, angry looks on their faces and determination in the way they carried themselves.  
  
The raven haired woman marched up to the Lady's desk and stood stiffly in front of it while her companion shut the door with considerably less force than it had been opened with. Then the red-haired woman quickly joined her partner at Lady Une's desk.  
  
Lady Une's gaze flickered between the two women in confusion then settled on the raven haired one for a moment. "Is there anything wrong Destiny?" Then her eyes swung back to the red-haired woman, "Angel?"  
  
Destiny was the first to speak, and she was as she always was. Blunt. "Faith is missing. We have evidence that she might have been abducted."  
  
"We wanted to tell you that we're going to look through the computers for some things and then we're leaving." Angel continued firmly.  
  
Lady Une's expression went vaguely Commander Une-ish as she reviewed the information she was given and then she nodded sharply. "Right. But I want you two to be cautious. If any information gives you even a hint that you'll be outnumbered, call me on the speaker from your office. Now, if you don't mind...." Lady Une said in a tone that was clearly dismissive as she picked up her paperwork off her desk and went back to her task.  
  
Destiny immediately stalked out the door the way she had previously come in, loudly. Angel quickly followed, her determined expression unchanged except for a spark of amusement as she watched her partner stalk down the hallway, scaring everyone she came across.  
  
Soon enough, the two women reached their office and Destiny treated their door with the same rough treatment as she had Lady Une's before she went into the room. Angel could only sigh and shake hear head at Destiny's behaviour as the other woman went around the room slamming cabinets. "You know, we'll get in trouble if you break things again."  
  
Destiny sighed and ran her hands through her long hair, trying to calm herself down. When her body started to relax, she dropped into the computer chair and threw herself into looking for where Faith might have been taken.  
  
~*~*~*~* 30 min later *~*~*~*~  
  
"Destiny!" Angel exclaimed, exasperated with her partner, "No matter how many times we go through it, it won't work! It's just us against a whole shit load lot of them!"  
  
Destiny growled and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like working with people I don't trust." she said in a low tone of voice. Angel knew that tone, that was the one that Destiny used before she hurt someone. Or, Angel glanced around the room, something.  
  
The red haired woman sighed, "Give me a break will you? You know what Une will do to us if we try this ourselves! We need help, we're getting it. Enough said. Une will give us competent officers, I'm sure."  
  
Destiny shot a little glare at Angel, "That doesn't mean I have to like it."  
  
Angel paused, in the middle of reaching for the speaker and looked at Destiny. "Out of anyone else's mouth, that phrase would have sounded petulant."  
  
The raven haired woman watched as Angel dialed Lady Une on the speaker and glared. Angel's attention wasn't on her however, so she turned her amethyst eyes to the ceiling and glared at that instead.  
  
When Angel got off the speaker with Lady Une, she walked over to where Destiny sat, glaring ineffectually at the ceiling. "It's all set now, she's going to ask a couple of her officers who can do it. I think she's giving us about 3 or so, and we have to be changed and ready to meet them in the Conference Room in about 45 minutes."  
  
Angel watched in amusement as Destiny grabbed her coat and almost ran to the door. Destiny did, however treat the door better on her way out than she had on her way in, testament to her better mood at finding Faith. Angel got her coat at a less rushed pace and serenely followed her scary partner down the hall, toward the parking lot.  
  
The red haired woman was treated to a view of Destiny's motorcycle roaring away from the Preventer's office, kicking up dust behind it. Angel grinned and walked over to her black convertible, sliding behind the wheel. She revved the engine and took off after her friend, the lighting on the road playing with the flames she had hand painted onto the car.  
  
Reaching the house quickly, Destiny unlocked the door and ran up the steps two at a time, not bothering to lock the door behind her. Angel would be there soon enough, so there was no danger of someone getting in the house that wasn't supposed to be there. She ran down the hallway toward her room and punished another innocent door. Quickly rifling through her closet, she grabbed a basket that she hadn't opened in... Well, she hadn't opened it in a long time. She pulled the basket out of the closet and sat it on the bed before lifting the lid.  
  
Inside were skintight black cotton pants and matching shirt, which made no sound when you wore them. Almost reverently, Destiny took the clothes from the basket she hadn't expected to open again. Quietly slipping on the pants and shirt, she looked for her signature purple hair ties she always wore. Finding them, she quickly put her hair up in a high ponytail with the long ties criss-crossing over her hair, almost making it look like her hair was braided. Then, finding at the bottom of the basket, an old pair of worn black boots, she put those on and she was ready.  
  
Destiny stood and walked over to the full length mirror behind her door and looked at her reflection. Immediately, her mind drew her back to the last time she had worn these clothes, in exactly the arrangement she had on now. Forcefully driving away those thoughts, she opened the door and walked down the hallway toward the staircase.  
  
While she had been preoccupied, Angel had apparently come and locked the door behind her, so Destiny settled herself down for a short wait. Almost immediately after that, Angel appeared coming down the hallway in similar black clothes to Destiny's, but with her own little embellishments. Angel, who normally had her hair down, or in a braid was wearing her hair in a bun, mostly covered by a backwards, black hat. She also had a gun resting against the small of her back, as well as knives hidden in her sleeves and pants.  
  
Angel gave Destiny a tight little smile, showing that the past was bothering her too and motioned for Destiny to take the lead. "We'll take my car back to headquarters, it'll be easier than taking it and the bike. Especially if one of us gets hurt."  
  
Destiny just nodded her agreement, accidents could happen to them as well as anyone else, and headed out to the car. Once both of them were ready, Angel turned the key in the ignition and they were roaring back to headquarters.  
  
As soon as the car pulled into the parking lot, the girls were walking toward the entrance. Angel glanced at her watch, they had 5 minutes to go. She decided that taking a detour to the water fountain, to get a quick drink, would use up some of her extra time quite nicely. As she was walking down the hall, her mind slipped off into thought of the last time she had done something like this. 'I didn't expect to feel like this when I wore the old gear again..... Hell, I didn't expect to wear this again! It's just that it brings back too many memories...'  
  
Suddenly, she felt herself crash into someone and stepped backwards immediately, finding herself really embarrassed. She looked up at whoever it was and started apologizing. "I'm really very sorry about that, I should have been watching where I was going. I just..." Her voice stopped working as she stared into eyes a color violet she had never expected to see again. "Duo?"  
  
She hugged him fiercely and stepped back, looking at him. "I didn't think.... I never knew if I would see you again..." Her voice trailed off and she shook her head, "What a way to meet."  
  
Duo raised an eyebrow at this.... girl who acted as if she was a long lost relative or something. Mentally Duo snorted at the thought, the only people he could have called family were long dead. He decided to ask just what the hell was going on here. "Do I know you, or something?"  
  
Angel's jaw dropped in surprise, and she stared at Duo incredulously. "Do you know me? Ok Duo, I'm sure that we haven't spent that much time apart. Have you forgotten your best friends so quickly? Why, Solo'd be ashamed of you! You've forgotten me, your friend since before the Church! Why-"  
  
Angel was cut off when Duo grabbed her and swung her around, her feet coming off the floor because he was about 3 or 4 inches taller than her. When he finally put her down, she mock punched him in the arm, "Now that was the greeting I expected! Imagine, to have forgotten me! Jeez!" She looked up at him and grinned impishly.  
  
Duo grinned back at her and hugged her hard again, then stepped back. "We have a lot to catch up on Cara. Gods, I thought you were dead! Now we can be together, and I'm never going to lose you again!"  
  
Angel smiled slightly, "Yeah we do have a lot to catch up on. And the name's Angel now, at least for a little while anyway. But I have a feeling you were supposed to be meeting two officers for an assignment, am I right?"  
  
Duo looked at her, surprised. "Yeah, how...." His gaze went over her outfit for the first time and he groaned. "All this time and you were here!"  
  
"Like you said, we have a lot to catch up on. But if I know Lady Une, this isn't the last surprise she has in store for us. We should get to the Conference Room. C'mon!" Angel grabbed Duo's hand and started running down the hallway toward the room.  
  
They reached the Conference Room and opened the door in time to catch sight of Destiny's first glimpse of Trowa.  
  
"Nanashi?" Destiny gasped, her purple eyes wide with astonishment.  
  
Trowa looked just as surprised as Destiny, which was enough to tell Duo that something big had just happened. "Midii? But..." Trowa took a good look at Destiny and compared it to the mental image of Midii. The only similarities he could find between the two was the slightness of build. "You've changed."  
  
Destiny looked at him, the coolness she had developed over the years coming back to her quickly. "You haven't."  
  
"So which is the real you?" Trowa asked, giving her a hard stare.  
  
Destiny just calmly folded her hands, giving him a cool look in return. "A good spy changes appearances so they won't be easily found."  
  
Trowa leaned over the desk, "So are you spying for the Preventers or are you spying on the Preventers for someone else?"  
  
Destiny's cool mask broke and she glared at him. "It's none of your business, but I'm with the Preventers."  
  
Slowly Trowa settled himself back into his seat, his gaze never leaving Destiny. Destiny decided that ignoring him would be the best thing and set that plan to motion.  
  
Angel looked back and forth between the two, who hadn't registered her and Duo's presence. "I think the Lady's plan backfired." She muttered to herself quietly. Unfortunately that was enough to bring the attention of the two combatants to her and Duo. "Um... Would you believe me if I said I didn't hear anything?" She asked weakly.  
  
A small grin twitched at the corner of Destiny's mouth. "No."  
  
"Damn." Angel said without any real heat behind it. She turned to Trowa and held her hand out for him to shake, "Nice to meet you. You can call me Angel, and her Destiny."  
  
Trowa shook her hand politely, and noted the new name that Midii had. "Trowa Barton. Pleasure."  
  
Duo looked at Destiny, trying to guess whether she would ignore him the way she had Trowa, or not.  
  
Destiny smiled fully when she saw Duo's indecision and held her hand out to him first. "As she said, you can call me Destiny. And you are?"  
  
Duo grinned, "Duo Maxwell. I may run and hide but I never tell a lie."  
  
Angel wandered over to where Destiny was sitting and pulled up a chair next to her. "So you don't lie, you just tell half-truths and change the subject, right?"  
  
Melodramatically, Duo grabbed his heart and fell into a convenient chair. "You wound me! Why would you ever think such a thing about me?"  
  
Angel just grinned and looked at Destiny. "That's Duo-talk for 'yes'. It's good to see you haven't changed. Even your speech is pretty much the same." She said, turning back to Duo. "So, does anyone know who we're waiting for?"  
  
Everyone looked up as a man walked through the door, with black hair tied back in a ponytail and black eyes. Duo grinned from where he was sitting. "Your question answered, Angel. May I introduce Chang Wufei, resident martial artist and upholder of Justice."  
  
Wufei sighed, "Maxwell, do grow up."  
  
"But Wu-bear, I'm already taller than you! If I grow any more, you'll have to strain your eyes to see me. Like Trowa."  
  
Trowa rolled his eyes at the exchange, "Thanks, Duo."  
  
"Sorry, Tro-man."  
  
Angel stood up and held out her hand for him to shake, "You can call me Angel. It's nice to meet you."  
  
"You may call me Wufei." He said, taking her hand.  
  
Destiny followed after Angel, exchanging names and greetings with Wufei and then seating herself. Angel took this as a sign that she was to begin the briefing and breathed deeply.  
  
"I don't know how much Une told you about this mission so I'll go over everything. We're doing a rescue mission for a friend of ours who was kidnapped by people who have the same basic plot as everyone else. To take over the world. There are also some things we have to tell you that you won't believe. Destiny and I, as well as others, were operated on by your scientists. They... 'enhanced' us, sort of like your Heero. I'm not going into detail, but the end result is that we have some... Gifts, you could call them. I can play with anything involving the weather; wind, water, lightning. Destiny has what you call telekinesis, she can move things with her thoughts. Faith, the girl we're rescuing, is telepathic and could control any person's mind and not even have them know she's there. We need to rescue her, so she can't be used for her Gift."  
  
Angel looked around and fought the urge to find somewhere to hide.  
  
"If what you're saying is true," Wufei said slowly, "then you're all some sort of Witches?"  
  
Destiny smiled at the statement, "That word is true enough. I guess we would be 'made' Witches, unnatural any way you look at it really."  
  
Duo looked at Angel, confused. "But I've known you since we were like, 5. I would have noticed it before, wouldn't I?"  
  
Angel nodded, "Yeah. The scientists brought me to the Compound right after the Church burned down. So you see, they weren't there before."  
  
Trowa looked at Angel intently, "And there are more like you both?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are their... Gifts all different?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Wait." Wufei held up a hand, "If you have these.... Gifts, then why do you need our help?"  
  
"Because as 1st generation experiments, we're only good to deal with about 50 people by ourselves if we have offensive powers. Angel's Gifts help her keep in shadows and she could fry people with lightning but backup is always a good plan." Destiny said quietly.  
  
"What about your, what was her name? Faith?" Duo asked.  
  
"We have no guarantee that she's awake to help us. She could be drugged, or unconscious. Both are bad. You can't use your Gift when you're drugged." Angel replied. "And we really should get going now. Anyone have a car all of us can fit in?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Siren Alecto: Happy now?  
  
Eiryn: Yes.  
  
Siren Alecto: WHY are you making me write this again?  
  
Eiryn: I need a break from poetry.  
  
Siren Alecto: It's YOUR fault that you wake me up at 3am because you want me to write something.  
  
Eiryn: Yes, and maybe I'll do it again, with this!  
  
Siren Alecto: I thought Muses were supposed to be nice!  
  
Eiryn: I'm the only one that could handle the way you endlessly procrastinate.  
  
Siren Alecto: -.-; I can't help it that I have a life you know  
  
Eiryn: Life? What life? You spend all your time reading other people's fanfiction and watching anime.  
  
Siren Alecto: Right. That's my life. I don't procrastinate, I'm busy.  
  
Eiryn: *Sure*. Whatever you wanna call it, if you do it with this fic, I'll make you only get 2 hours of sleep, I swear!  
  
Siren Alecto: Well, there you have it folks. You'll have to put up with this fic until my damn Muse will let me out of it. Though a little encouragement would help her job. And a lot of flames would end it. Unless she gets perverse again....  
  
Eiryn: . I AM NOT PERVERSE! ::chases Siren Alecto with a very sharp sword:: 


	2. Rescue Mission

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I? 

Author's note: SECOND CHAPTER! Anyways, encouragement please, and constructive criticism as always. Hope you like it, and things should settle down.... ::thinks about it for a sec:: um... probably a long time from now. But enjoy the confusion! ;)

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto

Chapter 2 - Rescue Mission

__

June

AC 200

Preventers Headquarters

18:30

The car arrangement ended up with Destiny and Angel going in Angel's convertible and Trowa, Duo, and Wufei in Duo's car. Angel glanced at Duo's black car, appreciating the sleekness of the machine, and the ability to carry more passengers than her two-seater. "Nice. Though I'd never give up my baby." She claimed, as she lovingly stroked one of the rising red flames on the side of her night-black convertible.

Duo gave a low whistle and grinned at Angel. "I'd be happy to take care of it for you if you go on vacation. **Very** happy."

Angel mock glared at him, "Do **not** get ideas about my car, braid-boy!"

Destiny rolled her eyes and motioned impatiently for everyone to get themselves seated. "Get moving." 

After that, Angel knew that playing around would be too much, so she settled down to the task at hand. The very enjoyable task of driving her baby at the speeds it deserved. Angel grinned as she turned the key in the ignition, there were times she used Preventer privilege to her advantage and this was one of them. She planned to enjoy it to it's fullest. 

Before she put the car into gear, she had the top as well as the windows down, so the wind ruffled her hair lightly. "Hey, Duo!" She called out to him in the other car. 

"What?" He asked, after he rolled down his window to speak to her more easily.

"Race ya." She offered, a challenging light in her eyes.

Duo smirked, "You got it."

Angel grinned, as the car hummed along with her in anticipation. "Then let's go." She waited for Duo to line his car up with hers to start counting. By then she could see the blank faces of Wufei in the passenger seat and Trowa in the back. She took this as a sign that he was lined up with her and started counting loud enough for him to hear. "On your mark... Get set... Go!" Her foot slammed on the pedal after she shouted go -she was fair, after all- and she could hear the squealing of tires as they shot off down the road. 

Duo could also hear the burning rubber, and wondered how much trouble they would get into because of the skid marks they were sure to have left. Duo grinned to himself as he thought about that last statement. Of course there was going to be trouble, there always was when Angel and him got together. Double Trouble, they used to be called in the old days. But those days were over and he had to focus on the now... Like the sight of Angel's really cool car slowly pulling away from his.

Destiny rolled her eyes and pulled out a hand-held tracking unit that fit neatly in her palm. "Next left, then a right." 

Angel glanced over at Destiny and grinned, "Don't you just love my little toy? The things I make are just so helpful."

"Just keep your eyes on the road, Angel."

"Duo... What's going on between you and Angel?" Trowa asked quietly, not turning from his view of the road speeding under them.

"Huh?" Duo looked up startled. "What're you getting at?"

"He means, Maxwell, what are you doing with this Angel person if you have Hilde?" Wufei broke in.

"Wait... You thought... We... us..." Duo started laughing so hard that the car swerved and Wufei had to reach out a hand and steady the steering wheel. "It's not like that between us," Duo started, still chuckling, "She's been my best friend since... oh, since we were about 5 or so. She disappeared when we were about 10 so there wasn't any time for there to be even the hint of emotions like what you guys are getting at. I mean she's a looker all right, but I'm not interested in her that way. She is, and has always been a sister to me."

Wufei nodded once and settled back into the cushions, convinced that Duo wasn't being dishonorable.

"Anyway, I could ask the question of you, Trowa. I mean, that was a very tense room when you and Destiny thought you guys were alone. What's going on there?" Duo asked, his gaze flickering from Angels car to his friend's profile. He was rewarded by the tightening of the muscles in Trowa's back. 'Caught ya.' He thought with a mental grin as he expertly followed Angel's car on it's path.

"When I was a mercenary, we found a girl named Midii Une. She turned out to be a spy from OZ, and led them to us by a tracer she wore. Everyone died except for me and her. She was the only one who knew I am Nanashi. That's what Destiny called me when she saw me." Trowa's sentences were clipped, almost like they were painful to speak. "So there's nothing like what you want to hear." The last sentence had something close to a menacing tone but instead of being afraid, Duo's mental smile widened. _Definitely something going on there._

On the other hand, Trowa's story also got Wufei's undivided attention. "Do you think she could still be playing traitor?"

"I don't know," Trowa replied honestly "It's bad to assume anything, so I'll just keep watching her. Angel too."

"Angel?" Duo looked over at Trowa through the rear-view, surprised. "You think she might be in on something too?"

Trowa just shrugged and leaned back in his seat, crossing muscled arms over his chest.

"I don't know," Wufei started, thinking back on the conversation he just had with them. "If they're traitors, why haven't they done something already? And why when they are being captured are they turning to the Lady for help? Wouldn't they just ask someone else?"

"I don't know... I just want to make sure that she's on the same side as us." Trowa said quietly.

Duo was distracted from answering by Angel's car suddenly slowing and pulling over on the shoulder of the road. He downshifted and parked just behind, turning off his lights.

Angel was already out of the car and rummaging in the trunk when she heard Duo's car pull up behind her. She gave a cheerful wave as Duo jumped out of the car and came over.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" 

"This." Angel said simply as she pulled a large suitcase from the back of the trunk and opened it for Duo to see the array of explosives in it. 

"That's a lot of firepower." Trowa said simply. 

"They took our friend." Destiny replied, walking over to the trunk.

"That was a mistake. Now we'll punish them." Angel said, with a fierce light in her eyes.

"Don't overdo it and let your emotions go to your heads." Wufei retorted sharply.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Chang." Destiny said coldly as she pushed a new clip into her handgun.

"Don't preach until you see us in action, k?" Angel countered as she closed the suitcase again and checked the clips in her own guns. Satisfied, she turned to the group. "Ready. So who wants to help me with a distraction?"

Duo flashed her an evil grin, "I'll go, I **love** blowing things up."

Destiny nodded in agreement, "Good. I guess you other two are with me. Have a problem with that?" She asked Trowa challengingly. 

"No. It'll help me keep an eye on you." Trowa responded bluntly.

Angel smothered a grin with her hand and turned to Duo. "C'mon. We should get going."

With that, the two walked off into the trees.

Destiny sighed and glanced at Trowa. "Why is it exactly that you dont trust me?"

"It might be the fact that you betrayed me once before." Trowa answered.

Destiny glared at him, full of lethal force, "What the hell do you want me to do to prove my innocence?! Lady Une can testify that I practically built the Preventers unit with only Angel to help me."

Trowa narrowed his gaze at Destiny, "You expect me to believe that one assignment for OZ for your family's sake was it? That you never tried to pay the bills that way 'till now? Hah, likely story."

Destiny's glare intensified still further, "It's the fucking truth so you can believe it or not. Do whatever the hell you want, just don't fuck up on this mission." The raven-haired girl got up close to Trowa "Got that?" she whispered venomously.

Then she turned and stalked away a couple of feet.

Wufei judged that it was safe to bring himself into their line of vision now that the sparks had stopped flying. "You really push her buttons." He remarked just loud enough for his fellow pilot to hear him.

"Yeah, well, the feeling's mutual. Damn, why does she get me so agitated?" Trowa asked in frustration.

_I have no idea. Why do you do the same to me? _Destiny sighed and her posture drooped - for just one moment. Then she straightened and a collected look came back to her. "Right. They have enough of a lead now. Let's go." Not stopping to see if the two men followed her, she headed off silently at a light jog into the woods. 

Wufei and Trowa shrugged and took off at a moderate jog after her, just as silent through the undergrowth as the raven haired woman. 

They quickly caught up to her and steadied into an even pace disrupted only by Destiny signaling them to slow and eventual stop at the edge of the tree line. She quickly scanned the clearing in between the trees and the base that was holding the mysterious captive. Seeing only a minimal number of guards wandering around the perimeter with not a great amount of focus, Destiny nodded. At that moment, a loud explosion went off and Destiny shot forward, gun out and ready with the two men close behind her in equal amounts of readiness. 

With all the confusion, none of the guards saw the three figures clothed in black enter the building swiftly and silently. After they had passed the entrance, Destiny flipped out her palm unit and looked at the blinking light. Taking the next right hallway, Destiny started to run faster and faster, starting to feel success in every bone in her body. 

Taking two more right turns and then a left, Destiny paused again to look at the tracking device in her hand and gauge how much longer 'till they reached Faith. She guessed that it would only be a little longer and set off down yet another hallway in search for her friend. Trowa contented himself with following a couple of paces behind Destiny and Wufei a little behind him, keeping an eye on where the woman would lead him next. Suddenly Destiny stopped outside a door and treated everyone to the site of a door being knocked off of its hinges completely. 

The first thing they saw in the room was a young woman tied to a chair, head tilted forward, short black hair covering her face. Destiny marched in and kneeled down next to the woman and started untying the ropes around her wrists and ankles. After that was done Destiny gently picked up the woman and carried her out the door. Trowa checked the next hallway and it was all clear so the three started running back towards the exit.

Suddenly the sound of gunfire erupted behind them and Trowa yanked out his gun to return fire and cover their backs. The skirmish ended quickly, but it was enough to keep the three soldiers tense and on their guard while traveling back the way they came. Coming around the bend to the next hallway, they stumbled upon a group of guards so quickly that everyone froze. Recovering quickly, Destiny used her power to slam the guards against the wall behind them hard enough so that there was an audible *crack* when they hit. 

Deciding that it was getting increasingly more dangerous to be in the building, the three ran for the exit as fast as they could. Then all hell broke loose as the alarm system went off. Apparently someone had figured out very quickly that their prisoner was missing and had no intention of letting her go. Destiny yanked Trowa backwards by his shirt two seconds later, to flatten them against a wall just as a group of soldiers ran past them. 

_Did she... save me?_ Trowa wondered incredulously as he openly stared at the raven haired woman at his side. He was brought out of his stupor by Destiny signaling the "all clear" sign. 

They ran across and ended outside the compound a couple of minutes later. Once they got back into around the middle of the woods, where it was quite dense and no one could see them Destiny stopped. Gently lowering her friend against a tree, she grabbed a communicator from a pocket in her pants and flipped it open. 

"Angel. We've got her. Meet you back at the car." Then she flipped it shut and tucked it back into her pocket again, not even waiting for a token response from the other girl. With her hands free, Destiny turned back to the woman lying on the ground, propped against a tree trunk and performed a quick check over her body for broken bones or obvious injuries. 

_Bruised ribs, abrasions on wrists, and a puncture mark on her right arm. Nothing serious or life threatening, the car really shouldn't jostle her too much either. All's go. _With quick mental calculations Destiny decided that the bruising on the ribs wasn't bad enough to rig a temporary stretcher, so she gently picked up her friend and headed back to their car.

Angel's ears perked as her transmitter came softly to life. She heard "Angel. We've got her. Meet you back at the car." and then all was silent once more. Grinning, she fell back into the fallen leaves that she had been crouching in and stared at the shadows cast by the giant trees above her. Then her view changed to Duo upside down, looking at her curiously. She giggled softly, then jumped to her feet and planted a kiss on Duo's cheek before twirling in a circle.

"We got her back! Mmm..." She sighed, hugging herself and closing her eyes. Then she turned back to Duo. "You'd better get the case with the rest of the supplies. We're supposed to meet them back at the car."

Clicking his heels together and giving her a mock salute, Duo grabbed the case with the rest of the explosives and set off at a fast walk back to the car with Angel by his side. 

"Duo?" Angel asked suddenly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah?" 

"Aren't you going to, you know, ask me all sorts of questions about... everything?"

Duo smiled slightly, "I want to, but I know you well enough so that if you don't wanna talk, I'm not gonna hear anything."

Angel sighed dramatically while trudging up a hill, "Yup, I suppose I'm too much like you that way."

Duo raised an eyebrow at her, "You think so? And people always told me I talked too much. Sounds like I should talk more." He grinned evilly.

Angel elbowed him lightly in the side. "Baka. You could talk for days non-stop and not say anything important at all."

"Defense." He said, looking straight ahead.

"Don't I know it." She replied shaking her head. "But, really, I'd almost be relieved to answer your questions. I want to know what my brother thinks of me."

Duo let his gaze rest seriously on Angel again. "How many of you are there, in total? Tell me about them?"

Angel put both of her arms behind her head and tilted back slightly in a thinking pose. "Ok, a quick review then. Well there's me, who you know. Destiny, she's a good friend, trustworthy, but has emotional problems. Sometimes she can be rather focused on the mission. A female Heero Yuy, I suppose. Then there's Mercy, she's so mild and innocent, sometimes you feel like knocking your head against a wall. She lives in Russia right now, she might be coming back to visit soon. Her powers are to heal. Faith, she's got a bad temper and some pretty bad emotional scarring as well. Her power's telepathy as you know. Then there's Hope, she's pretty good natured about most things. She's a regular Doctor Dolittle and can speak to animals. Very handy, anyway she's your Heero's twin-"

Duo looked at Angel, eyebrows raised.

She smiled at him, "No, I'm not lying. It's true. Anyway, what else about her? Oh, I forgot to tell you about my hobby. I'm a mechanic, Hope designs things and I build them, we work pretty good together. Then there's Fiona. She's our younger by two years, but she's the most powerful one of us. She's the only 2nd generation of the experiment, and her mother was a natural witch so Fi was enhanced a lot. She's got a couple of different talents. Her mother taught us all how to control our powers. Then... she died. Fiona's about the most emotionally damaged person I've ever met. Then there's Blade. He's Destiny's younger brother, the only one she still has. He can control metal and is madly in love with Fiona."

Duo smiled, "Sounds pretty complicated. But, how do you know the other pilots by name? I'm sure you've never met them."

Angel shook her head at him. "Duo what do you think the scientist were doing with 7 kids that were genetically enhanced? We were put on missions to assassinate threats or to find information for your missions. We also had Faith hack into the system to get all your personal data so we could see who these pilots were."

Duo sighed, "My life seems so simple compared to yours."

Angel shrugged her shoulders, "I can't say that it bothers me. I rather liked the energy and efficiency of everything." She looked around, surprised. "We're here already. Cool." She wandered over to the roadside where her baby was parked and then stroked the side of the car gently. She was interrupted by an irritated voice from her right.

"Would you stop treating that car like it was your damn kid and give me a hand?!"

Angel swung around quickly to face Destiny and noticed the way that Faith fairly drooped in her arms. "How's she doing?" Angel asked softly, stepping close enough to Destiny that she could push Faith's bangs back from her face and gently stroke her smooth cheek. Angel's face had such a look of gentleness on it, it almost boggled Destiny's mind when moments later Angel turned to her and said "I'm going to come back and kill him later."

"About that." Destiny said, catching Angels eye when she was about to say something. "I want to see Fiona about what happened. We'll go from there."

"Fine." Angel replied. "As long as I can kill him."

"We'll see." Destiny conceded. "But first things first. Like how the hell we're going to work getting to Fiona's house with this one unconscious."

Siren Alecto: Whew. I think that's a good place to stop, don't you?

Eiryn: No.

Siren Alecto: -.- I knew you would say that.

Eiryn: Then why did you bother to ask?

Siren Alecto: ANYWAY, comments and criticism welcome, please, please, please! If you don't understand something I'll be happy to change it or answer your question(s), for the sake of the story. 

Eiryn: Please support her and make my job easier. It's hard enough trying to get her to actually write this without TOO many flames making her lose confidence.

Siren Alecto: WHAT confidence?

Eiryn: See?


	3. First Impressions

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I?  
  
Author's note: THIRD CHAPTER! This is slightly shorter than the rest have been, tell me what length you all like, k? Thanks to those who give me such nice reviews, I'm glad you like this humble author's fanfiction. Enjoy the new chapter!  
  
  
  
  
  
The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Chapter 3 - First Impressions  
  
  
  
Angel looked back and forth from Destiny, who held Faith to her car with two seats. "Um... problem."  
  
Destiny rolled her eyes. "You think? How are we going to do this?"  
  
"How are we going to do what?"  
  
Both girls tensed instinctively and jerked their heads towards the voice. The voice --Trowa-- leaned against the side of Duo's car, arms crossed and visibly waiting for their reply.  
  
Angel sighed as she gestured to the occupant of Destiny's arms. "We're going to take her somewhere and see about what's been going on, but we don't know how to work getting her there."  
  
"She could take my seat." Trowa said quietly.  
  
Destiny thought for a second, hiding a smile behind bland eyes. "It could work, she could take up half of the back of Duo's car and I could sit next to her, make sure she isn't jostled by anything."  
  
"Yes, but Duo would need to know where he was driving to, and why." Duo said, leaning against his car.  
  
"Hearing you talk in third person is strange, you know. And you can do it like we did here, since you've proven yourself so good at following me," Angel said mischievously.  
  
"I hate to interrupt, but where exactly are we going?" Wufei asked irritably.  
  
Destiny had previously taken the time to settle Faith in the back seat the way she wanted her, and came back to the conversation. "We're going to see a friend of ours named Fiona. She's an oracle so she can tell us exactly what's going on and what we can do to stop it."  
  
"Another experiment?" Trowa queried.  
  
"Sort of, her mother was. Fiona's the only second generation experiment, and she's very powerful." Angel replied.  
  
"Can we go, then? I don't want to stand around here and wait for the soldiers to search for us." Destiny said acidly.  
  
Angel rolled her eyes and hopped inside of her convertible, Trowa following suit.  
  
Destiny jumped into Duo's back seat and closed the door with an audible snap, showing her displeasure at not leaving right then. Wufei wordlessly climbed into the front seat and Duo slid behind the steering wheel, waiting for Angel to start off.  
  
Her mint green eyes gleamed as she turned the key in the ignition and heard her baby start purring like a kitten. Smoothly she pulled back onto the road and set off towards a home away from home for her.  
  
Destiny had a moment to check that Faith hadn't been jostled as Duo carefully pulled behind Angel before Wufei spoke up.  
  
"Fiona isn't just an oracle is she?"  
  
Destiny developed a small smile. "You're correct. Fiona is a great number of things. She mothers us all the time, yet never really takes care of herself. Fiona was the best infiltrator that we had because she didn't give the impression that she would hurt or betray anybody. Of course, that's what she ended up doing most of the time. She has every guy on Earth chasing her that's not in love with someone else or about to fall in love and I mean real love." Destiny looked pensive for a moment. "She has flings but never lets any guy close enough to care about her."  
  
"Including your brother, I heard." Duo's voice came from the front.  
  
Destiny glared, "Angel shouldn't be talking about Blade. Though she's right enough about his situation with Fiona. She wont let him be anything but a friend to her. He's not giving up though, we're just that way." Destiny smiled out the window, thinking about her brother could do that to her. She loved him with all of her heart, he was the only man that she could trust in this world.  
  
They rode in silence the rest of the way, each of them in thought. Including Angel and Trowa.  
  
Angel soon pulled off onto a dirt road, apparently a private drive and followed it to a large-ish Victorian styled house surrounded by trees and, Trowa saw, a nondescript black car parked out front with a license plate that said "Wench".  
  
Angel smirked as she traced Trowa's line of vision. "That's typical Fiona, for you. She has an interesting personality." After stopping the red- haired woman almost dove out of her car and ran to the front door. Trowa, exiting the car with much more grace and decorum, greeted the site of Duo's car pulling up to the house.  
  
Gently, Destiny opened her door and rose, Faith still cradled in her arms like a beloved child, and walked slowly to the door. Angel hurried in front of her to open the door, but a look from Destiny made her stand back. The next second, the door to the house slammed wide open, meeting the wall with a dull thud.  
  
Standing on the threshold, Destiny peered around and called out questioningly, "Fiona?"  
  
"I'm upstairs, readying the invalid's room. I'll be down in a sec." The voice was warm, and mature sounding; coming from the upstairs.  
  
Nodding, Destiny shuffled into the house and took a hallway to the left, heading out of sight, everyone else following. They wandered into a comfortable looking sitting room, with big fluffy couches and huge armchairs by a fireplace. Destiny placed Faith on a couch, her friend's head in Destiny's lap.  
  
Angel curled herself in an over-large armchair with Duo sitting down by her feet, his back resting against the bottom of the chair.  
  
Trowa claimed another large armchair, stretching his long limbs out with a sigh. If I'm going to be here for a while, I might as well be comfortable.  
  
Wufei watched all this with a slight smile, It's rather nice to see harmony and peace in a group of soldiers like this, even though we just had a mission. I wonder if this is what it was always like for the onnas...  
  
Wufei was interrupted from further musings by the presence of a small woman around their age, with dark brown hair tied back in a bun and bright blue-green eyes. She was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up her arm and dark blue jeans. When she reached up a hand to push stray locks of hair out of her face, he realized that she wore black gloves with silver designs on the back that he couldn't quite make out.  
  
This is the strongest of them? Someone so... unassuming and non- threatening looking? Wufei thought incredulously, At least Destiny LOOKS as if she should be powerful.  
  
The woman smiled, blue-green eyes glowing, "It's an honor to meet all of you. My name is Fiona, probably the only person of our group that will use their real name. Enjoy the novelty while it lasts." Turning to Destiny, she asked "She hasn't awoken yet?"  
  
The raven haired woman just shook her head negatively, throat constricted.  
  
Fiona's eyes softened, "It'll be alright, Faith's too stubborn to be permanently harmed by anything. Even ghosts from the past." Then she walked over to crouch down next to the unconscious young woman.  
  
"Faith... I need you to wake up. C'mon Faith, come back to us." Her eyes glowing softly, Fiona stroked Faith's bangs back from her forehead.  
  
Eyes fluttering slowly open, Faith slammed them shut again, when light hit her sensitive pupils. She let out a low moan as her body began to register complaints that had not been her problem while unconscious.  
  
Fiona smiled softly and using a low soothing tone, tried to bleed some of the tension from her friend's body. "That's good. You weren't too far under that I couldn't bring you back. Listen - you don't have to open your eyes, just send me what I need by telepathy. It'll be easier on you."  
  
Faith sighed in relief and delicately formed a link between her own mind and Fiona's to ease the process of sending memories. The black haired girl scrunched her nose in displeasure as she handled her power more crudely than she liked, but after being drugged she couldn't handle anything requiring more finesse.  
  
Relaxing to help ease the transfer, Fiona closed her eyes and remembered. She lived Faith's memories as if they were her own and touched the strands of those lives. Visions filled her mind and changed in patterns, a part of the web of life showed itself to her, strand by strand. When she had gathered enough information, the brunette tried to stand, only to have her mostly asleep legs give out on her. She hit the ground with a thump, and rubbed her legs to get the feeling back into them.  
  
"Do you know you glow when you do that?" Duo asked.  
  
Fiona smiled ruefully, "Yes, I know. It means I can't do that unless I care that people see me. My shields can stand up against anything, but they're perfectly clear."  
  
Wufei leaned forward, interested "How much power can your shields stand up against, anyway?"  
  
Fiona crossed her now-awake legs and tilted her head in thought. "How can I explain it to you?... Alright, say you had all 5 custom Gundams; you could hit a shield of mine for days with everything in your gundams and my shield wouldn't even be scratched."  
  
"In other words, a whole shitload of power." Duo supplied.  
  
Fiona grinned at him, blue-green eyes sparkling "You could put it that way, yes."  
  
Trowa sighed slightly "And that's why someone kidnapped Faith. They want your powers to help them take over."  
  
She sighed and rubbed her temples "Of course. Because we're women they think they can use us, but they should know by now that we wont agree- Wait!" Fiona turned to her injured friend, panic in her eyes. "Faith! C'mon, I need you to tell me. Did they give you anything more than just a knockout drug?"  
  
The injured girl groaned and opened her eyes, revealing them to be a jade green color. She put a hand to her head, thinking "They just gave me about enough of a sedative to knock out a draft horse, but that's it. They didn't have enough time to prick me with anything else. So don't worry." And with that, she promptly let her eyes fall closed and went back to the land of dreamless sleep.  
  
Destiny shifted, "I'm going to regret this later aren't I?" She asked, motioning towards her legs, where Faith was sleeping comfortably.  
  
Angel's eyes fairly twinkled with mischief, "But the vision of maternal-ness coming from you is so sweet."  
  
Destiny's purple eyes snapped together in a glare that could rival Heero's at its coldest. "Do you have a death wish?" She asked menacingly.  
  
Angel smirked back at her, unscathed. You could only be affected by someone's glare so many times before it lost it's usefulness. "I'm an assassin slash witch slash Preventer's officer that hangs out with you guys. What do you think?"  
  
Duo looked over his shoulder at Angel, "I think the moment that Faith gets off her lap, Destiny's going to kill you."  
  
Fiona sighed dramatically, "Alas, it's been tried. And as you can see, it wasn't successful."  
  
"Is this the way you act all the time? I'm surprised that the enemy doesn't pay the preventers to take you back, instead of us trying to rescue you." Wufei muttered.  
  
Fiona studied him, and instead of the blow-up that Wufei expected, he got something entirely different. "If you meant that, I might have gotten upset. Probably not though, you'll have to work harder than that."  
  
Wufei just blinked at her but Duo broke out in fits of laughter. "The look on your face, Wu" he said between hysterics "is priceless, just priceless."  
  
He gave Duo a withering look and studied Fiona with growing respect.  
  
  
  
Siren Alecto: I have no idea where I want to go for the next two or three chapters, so anyone with ideas just tell me what you would like to happen, and I'll see if it fits.  
  
Eiryn: Do you have ANY idea of what you want to happen?  
  
Siren Alecto: Some, but the characters mostly decide on what they want to do.  
  
Eiryn: ...You are so borderline schizophrenic...  
  
Siren Alecto: Hey, my favorite writer, Tamora Pierce is the same way! Her characters decide what they want to happen.  
  
Eiryn: ...Her muse worries about her sanity too...  
  
Siren Alecto: Are you saying that all great writers are crazy?  
  
Eiryn: Mustn't be only great writers it applies to, after all you're crazy as well.  
  
Siren Alecto: ::chases her muse around and tries to throttle her::  
  
Eiryn: ::runs quickly, voice floating over her shoulder:: Don't forget to review and make suggestions! 


	4. Planning

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I?  
  
Author's note: The fourth chapter!!!!!! Finally, the chapter's finished. Thank you those who read and review, I really appreciate it. Continue voicing your opinions and questions to me, please! On that note, a person going by the name 'nobody' left two reviews asking questions.  
  
Review 1: i like it so far but i think that destiny isnt using her psychic abilities to their full potential. for example, why did destiny manually lift and carry her friend out if she could simply float her along. keep in mind that with only a little effort she can send a gun to take out a room full of guards without risking any injury. just some food for thought.  
  
Answer 1: The reason that Destiny was manually carrying Faith instead of using her power is because she's a first generation experiment and she doesn't multi-task very well with her power. Which means if she was using her power to carry Faith, then she couldn't have fought very well against anything that happened.  
  
Review 2: i think faith is a bit to powerful...atleast if she's only a telepath. if she had telekinetic abilities then that whole shield thing might be feasible but she's only a telepath. and even if she was telekinetic, then (by the standards of those shields) she would be god- like.  
  
Answer 2: Something which you seem to have confused a bit is that *Faith* is telepathic, *Destiny* is telekinetic, and *Fiona* is an Oracle with an extra power to shield. Hope this helps.  
  
  
  
  
  
The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Chapter 4 - Planning  
  
  
  
Destiny reached out and tugged gently on Fiona's sleeve, catching her attention. "So? What did you find out?"  
  
"The guy who kidnapped Faith was one just like the rest. Power-hungry he was, wanting the Earth and the Colonies under his control and he wanted Faith by his side to help him. The only unusual thing was... He was Faith's old master before he sold her to the scientists." Fiona said, looking into her friend's angry purple eyes.  
  
"Sold?..." Trowa asked quietly.  
  
Angel nodded. "Yeah. Her parents sold her to pay off debts and her master in turn sold her to the scientists for a profit. I guess he thought that he was still entitled to Faith being his slave." She grinned savagely, "Faith would have changed his opinion quickly if we hadn't rescued her."  
  
Fiona sighed. "To put it bluntly, Faith has a very sharp tongue that she likes to use to cut people to ribbons. Then she actually uses whatever's around her to physically hurt them."  
  
"Stop talking about a person as if they weren't right there next to you." Faith muttered as her eyes flickered open.  
  
"It's the truth isn't it?" Angel asked.  
  
"Shut up, you red-headed baka." Faith snapped, rubbing her temples and trying to ease the fierce headache she had.  
  
"I'll take that as a cue you're going to be just fine." Fiona said, rising to her feet in a fluid motion and headed out of the room.  
  
"Fi?" Faith asked, jade eyes uncertain.  
  
Fiona turned back and gave Faith a soft smile, "It'll be ok. Be back in a sec with some painkillers."  
  
"Did I miss something?" Duo asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.  
  
"We don't like getting Fi into situations where she's almost certain to kill someone. She was born to save people so it makes her sad when she has to murder them." Destiny replied, unraveling her hair from it's confines and running her fingers through it agitatedly.  
  
"Of course it makes me sad." Fiona said, coming back into the room with a cup of water in her right hand and some painkillers in her left. "The dead leave behind a parent, sibling or lover to mourn their passing."  
  
Duo started to look uncomfortable until Fiona spoke again.  
  
"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. Far from it, you fought to save everyone living now and those yet to be born. It's just as Des says, I don't like turning away from what I know is my path."  
  
"None of us are the type to waste life needlessly," Trowa injected quietly "so all this guilt is unnecessary."  
  
Fiona just elegantly raised a shoulder in a half- shrug and handed Faith the cup and painkillers.  
  
Faith's green eyes gleamed with appreciation and she downed the two pills in a gulp of water as quickly as she could.  
  
"So, what else did you find out Fiona?" Trowa asked, tilting his head slightly to see her better through his hair.  
  
"They're calling themselves Enigma, which is a pretty arrogant name considering that they're nothing compared to OZ or the White Fang. Enigma's very weak when it comes to their soldiers, the ones they have are old or half as well trained as they should be. They do have mobile suits, Leo, Aries and Taurus. No Pisces or Cancers though, which makes it easier to self-destruct the mobile suits. All we have to worry about is sneaking in before Enigma decides to go through with their plans without Faith." Fiona turned to Destiny, "Get ahold of Lady Une and tell her everything. We're going to need the other Gundam pilots and Hope."  
  
A grin tugged at the corner of Faith's mouth, "Things are going to get interesting, then."  
  
"They are at that," Fiona agreed.  
  
"One problem." Destiny said, eyeing Fiona.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where's your vid-phone?"  
  
Fiona rolled her eyes, "That's what happens when you don't visit except for holidays! And I live, what? 30 minutes from you? 40?"  
  
Destiny just shrugged off Fiona's complaints and rose to follow her bickering friend out of the room.  
  
"Well it's not dull here, that's for certain." Duo said, grinning.  
  
  
  
Destiny drummed her fingers on the desk, which the vid-phone was on, impatiently as she waited for someone to pick up at Headquarters.  
  
Destiny's scowl greeted Lady Une as she finally picked up, "It can be arranged for your face to stay in the expression," the Lady said tartly, "but we'll talk about that later. How did everything go?"  
  
The scowl faded from the younger woman's face to be replaced by a slight grin. "All according to plan, no causalities except for the enemy, none of us wounded except for Faith. She's not hurt too badly either, just her pride. Fiona also has a plan that we need to carry out ASAP. We have to attack the base before they can use the mobile suits they have to wreak havoc on the Earth, so we're going to need the rest of the Gundam Pilots assigned to us. We'll contact Hope ourselves, but we're going to need you to get Preventers officers ready to swarm in after we have the leader, to arrest everyone. Does that work well enough for you?"  
  
Lady Une's eyes narrowed in thought, "Sounds like a good plan but... just Hope? Not the others also?"  
  
Fiona's voice cut in smoothly behind Destiny; "The others are too far away, my lady, to make it here before we attack."  
  
"Well, you know best. Right, tomorrow at 17:00 the other Gundam pilots will be sent to you and I'll have the 11th and 12th squads hidden outside the base, ready to help arrest the soldiers. Give me the coordinates tomorrow when you come to work." Lady Une said and then abruptly cut the connection.  
  
"You know, she's almost as bad as you." Fiona said, leaning against the wall, smirking at her raven-haired friend.  
  
Destiny snorted "It must be bad when I'm worse than a schizophrenic who's other half is almost evil."  
  
Fiona's smirk dropped and she sighed, "I really wish you wouldn't say that about her. It's not nice."  
  
Destiny raised an eyebrow at her friend; "I respect and trust her judgment, as I trust her with my life and the life of those I care for. But I'm not and never have been 'nice'. Besides, she is a schizophrenic."  
  
Fiona raised an eyebrow at her raven-haired friend, then shook her head. "I'm not arguing with you over this, forget it. Let's just get back to the living room so we can tell everyone that they can go home but have to come back tomorrow to face the apocalypse."  
  
"You have such a strange personality." Destiny muttered under her breath. Fiona's emotions were mercurial, she was difficult to predict and Destiny knew from experience that Fiona sometimes had a temper. The hardest part about it, Destiny thought to herself as she followed her friend back the way they came is that you can never tell how she'll react to what you say or do. That makes her dangerous, very much so.  
  
Fiona entered the room first to instant silence. "You're all free to go home, but tomorrow we'll meet back here at 17:00, after work, and then we crush the bastards. Well, the Gundam pilots and Hope, Destiny, and Angel. I'll stay here, well within reach to help if I'm really needed, but I won't if you can handle it by yourselves. Any questions?"  
  
Duo stood up, uncertainty written across his face. "Um... My girl, Hilde, can she stay here? If I leave her at home, she'll sneak out and follow me, or do something stupid like repeat the Libra incident..."  
  
Fiona thought for a second, "Sure, your Hilde's welcome here, I always wanted to meet the person who pulled that stunt off."  
  
Wufei grunted, "Maxwell, you are too soft on that woman of yours."  
  
"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe you're too hard on them?" Fiona asked, eyebrow raised.  
  
"If they can't handle it, they're weak." Wufei replied.  
  
Fiona rolled her eyes, "Right, Wufei. I'm sure you're correct about this. And me being a woman PLUS an Oracle counts for squat, right?" Not giving him or anyone else a chance to answer, she continued "Alright, now, everyone out of my house, I'm supposed to be a recluse, you're turning me into a regular party person. Go on, scat." She said shooing, them out of the room, following them to the front door.  
  
She watched until Angel's car (the second to leave her drive) was long gone up the road.  
  
No one saw her wrap her arms around herself tightly, or heard her whisper on the dying breeze, "And so it begins..."  
  
  
  
Siren Alecto: So sorry that it took me forever to get this part out, and have it end up being so short. I have a feeling that the next chapter is going to give me a lot of trouble too, so please be patient with me. Hope you liked this chapter, although really, it had nothing exciting going on in it, the next chapter is going to have a lot, trust me.  
  
Eiryn: And they should trust you.... why?  
  
Siren Alecto: Um... because they love me?  
  
Eiryn: More likely they want to kill you because you have a procrastination problem the size of Texas!  
  
Siren Alecto: But I'm working on it!  
  
Eiryn: Really? ::looks dubious::  
  
Siren Alecto: -.-; Anyway, please tell me what you think, hate, like, blah, blah, blah. It helps me get the next chapter out faster.  
  
Eiryn: Think about the trouble I have, please! 


	5. Pranks and Siblings

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I?  
  
Author's note: CHAPTER NUMBER 5! I'm on a roll, you don't understand, I'm usually horrible about updating or working on my stories. Bad language in this chapter; be forewarned. Hope you like the story and this chapter, you should; it has plenty of things happening to keep you occupied.  
  
  
  
  
  
The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto  
  
Chapter 5 - Pranks and Siblings  
  
  
  
June  
  
AC 200  
  
Preventer Headquarters  
  
17:00  
  
Fiona glanced at her grandfather clock again, and cursed herself in all the languages that she knew. If I keep looking this many times and they haven't even left yet, then what am I going to be like while they're gone? Fiona banged her head on her desk that held her computer, shaking the whole thing. Maybe that wasn't the best idea, she thought, holding it steady so it wouldn't tip and break her entire computer system.  
  
She sighed when she heard the doorbell, now at least she could keep herself busy readying drinks for people, waiting for everyone to arrive. For only after all of them were here, could they begin, and they must crush this new faction.  
  
Lifting her arms high overhead to crack her back, Fiona left the work- related room that she was in to collect whoever it was at the door. The door itself was beautifully carved cherry wood, with Celtic designs in it, a theme carried throughout the house. Turning the silver knob, she greeted the familiar faces of Angel, Faith and Destiny, who hadn't bothered to change out of their Preventer uniforms of black pants, dark cream colored shirt, and the green and brown Preventer's jacket.  
  
She was about to step back from the doorway to let them in when the sound of another car heading down her drive made itself known. Angel and Destiny turned to see who it was, making themselves comfortable leaning against the side of her house, Faith against the door; waiting for the car to reach the house.  
  
First to exit the car was a blur of energy, made familiar by the braid swinging along behind it and the loud voice attached. Duo walked around to the other side of the car and ceremoniously opened the passenger side door.  
  
The first thing that Fiona or any of the girls saw of Hilde was her black hair, still cut short in the style the girl had when she worked for OZ. The next thing they noticed was the carefree laugh at Duo's extremely dramatized actions as he bowed to her, when she stepped out of the car.  
  
Hilde was wearing faded denim jeans, combat boots and blue-black shirt, wear that you could tell was normal for her because of the way that it just fit; Angel noticed as she went down the steps to greet her. "You must be Hilde," Angel said, extending a hand. "It's nice to meet you."  
  
Hilde grinned, her blue eyes sparkling, "And you must be Angel, I've heard a lot about you." Hilde shook Angel's hand warmly, then her gaze drifted to where the other girls stood in the doorway. "I've heard a lot about you, too."  
  
Fiona grinned, "I hope SOME of it was nice."  
  
Duo grabbed his heart and gasped melodramatically. "I'm wounded by your distrust in me."  
  
Angel shook her fiery tresses and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Keep your day job."  
  
"C'mon in." Fiona gestured into the house with one gloved hand.  
  
Hilde laughed and grabbed the end of Duo's braid, pulling him into the house behind her, pouting all the way.  
  
Once they reached to doorway, Duo grabbed his braid back from his girlfriend, gently stroking the end of it and murmuring to himself.  
  
Angel smacked her forehead and groaned, letting her mint-green eyes fall closed in mock agony. "My brother is a total baka."  
  
Grinning, the 'baka' reached over to place an arm around Angel's shoulders. "But you love me anyways."  
  
Fiona watched smiling as everyone bickered themselves into the living room, the comfortable one where Duo had been sitting just the day before. Clapping her hands for their attention, "Does anyone want something to drink? Soda, water, juice, tea.... I've got pretty much anything you like. Just no alcohol allowed before a mission." She said, winking.  
  
"If you get everyone on a sugar or caffeine high.... I will hurt you." Destiny said, half-heartedly glaring at the brunette.  
  
Batting her eyes Fiona gave Destiny an innocent look, "Whatever are you talking about. It would be pure coincidence if they got so hyped up on sugar that Angel and Duo bounced off walls."  
  
Faith smothered a laugh with a hand then quickly put on the mask of indifference she usually wore.  
  
"Keep it up and I'll bounce you off walls." Destiny replied, mock angrily.  
  
Angel was about to cut in with a smart comment, when they all heard another car come up the drive.  
  
"I'll be right back." Fiona said, and pivoted to walk back towards her front door. This time when she opened said door, she was greeted by Wufei's habitual scowl. Blinking a couple of times in surprise, she turned to Trowa who was standing behind him on the porch "Didn't anyone tell him that his face might freeze that way?"  
  
"I think it already has." Was the deadpanned reply.  
  
Wufei stalked into the house, Fiona following him and trying hard not to giggle. Trowa brought up the rear, no trace of laughter on his face but if you looked in his eyes you could see it.  
  
When Fiona reached the living room, Duo looked back and forth between her and Wufei like he knew something. "Ok, something happened and I missed it. Didn't it?"  
  
"I'm afraid so, Duo. You see, you missed me proposing to Wufei and him telling me that although I'm the sexiest woman in the world, he was deeply in love with you so he couldn't marry me." Fiona said, expression one of deepest sympathy.  
  
Duo gawked in surprise, "What?!"  
  
Fiona couldn't help it, he looked so comically confused, and when she turned to Wufei she really started to loose her composure. He had this look on his face like he couldn't decide whether to throttle her or laugh.  
  
Angel looked at Fiona, laughter in her eyes and Fiona decided she couldn't take anymore. Collapsing to the floor in a fit of giggles, she hugged her sides and laughed so hard that tears fell down her face.  
  
Duo looked between the laughing girl on the floor and Angel who was almost as hysterical. "I've been had." He muttered under his breath.  
  
Hilde patted his shoulder soothingly, laugher glittering in her blue eyes. "I'm sure you'll find a way to get back at her."  
  
The group was interrupted when the doorbell rang again. Looking at the still slightly hysterical girl on the floor, Destiny decided that she better answer the door.  
  
As she made her way to said door, the raven-haired woman indulged herself in a little smile over the slight prank that Fiona had just pulled on Duo. Somehow, Destiny had the feeling that this was going to be the start of the biggest prank war in history.  
  
She reverted back to the blank face and eyes she normally showed, as she pulled open the door. The man standing there sported an expression much the same as hers, but the blonde man behind him had an almost unbearably cheerful look on his face.  
  
"And you would be...?" She asked in a voice devoid of emotion.  
  
"Heero Yuy." The man with chocolate hair a shade or two lighter than Fiona's replied in monotone.  
  
"Quatre Rababa Winner." The blonde man said, smiling almost gaily, eyes a changing blue color. "And who are you?"  
  
"Destiny. Come." Destiny said and marched back into the house. When she made it back to the living room, she found that Fiona and Angel had recovered from their laughing fit, though Duo still looked a little piqued. I guess he's not used to the tables being turned on him. She had a feeling that he'd get used to it a little too quickly for anyone else though.  
  
Heero nodded a greeting to those he knew. Duo grinned and waved like normal but Wufei nodded back, noticeably angry about something. Heero moved over to sit next to Trowa on a couch. "What happened?" He asked quietly.  
  
"I'll tell you later." Trowa promised, whispering back.  
  
Nodding, Heero let the subject drop and turned his energy to studying the people in the room.  
  
Quatre had entered the room right behind him, and thought he saw someone who was vaguely familiar. He looked at the girl with dark brown hair and those familiar green-blue eyes that he knew changed color, and the memory clicked. "Fiona Morrigan!" He exclaimed.  
  
"Quatre?" Fiona turned around uncertainly and looked at him. Running over she jumped up to hug him. "I haven't seen you in a long time. How is Salina? Your 40 thieves?" As excited as she was, she left no room for Quatre to answer her as she threw question after question at him. Laughing he placed a finger on her lips, silencing her.  
  
"Salina's fine, though she misses you terribly, and my '40 thieves' moon over the loss of you constantly."  
  
Fiona raised an eyebrow, "I think Salina'll understand that I can't go back to visit her for awhile."  
  
Quatre grunted and looked at the rather large group of people in Fiona's living room. "Mind introducing me?"  
  
"The red-head goes by Angel, the purpled eyed girl goes by Destiny, and green-eyes is Faith." her gloved hand waved to each person, "I think they get your name by now. And your friend's name...." Fiona prompted.  
  
"Heero Yuy." Duo answered for his friend. "Pilot of Wing Zero and bodyguard of Relena Dorlain."  
  
"So who else are we waiting for?" Quatre asked, perching himself on the arm of a chair.  
  
"You'll see." Fiona said, giving an evil grin just as the doorbell rang. "That'll be them." Running down the hall to fling open the door, Fiona was knocked backwards by a black blur. Rolling around, wresting in the hallway, Fiona and what could only be a wolf knocked over chairs and vases, not really caring.  
  
Trowa being the first to reach them because of the noises, pulled a gun and was about to fire, but was interrupted by a voice from the open doorway.  
  
"Aniki (1), tell your friend that if he shoots Sheila, I'll shoot him back."  
  
Heero's voice came from behind him, "Trowa... better put the gun down."  
  
Trowa's eyes flew to where the voice came from and met a figure in faded clothes, who had medium brown hair with blond streaks and a familiar pair of prussian blue eyes. Traveling down, his eyes saw that he was being sighted down the barrel of a very real gun, and lowered his own weapon, keeping his hands in her sight.  
  
"Aniki?" He inquired, looking over his shoulder at Heero. Trowa wasn't stupid, he knew what the woman had called Heero. He wanted to know who this woman was who called him that.  
  
Fiona, meanwhile was still wrestling with the wolf -Sheila-, and crowed triumphantly as she managed to pin the wolf on it's side.  
  
Getting to her feet, Fiona smiled down at the wolf who was climbing to her feet. "I win again! You're getting old, friend for me to be able to beat you so quickly."  
  
"Sheila says that if she is old, then we should all start calling you Grandmother." Hope called, still in the doorway.  
  
For the first time, Fiona saw what was going on around her and sighed exasperatedly. "Hope, put down the gun, everyone, this is Hope and Sheila. Hope is Heero's twin sister and her power is to talk to animals. Got it? Good." Fiona then marched down the hallway towards the kitchen, Sheila following close behind her. "Are you hungry? I'll get you something, I'm hungry too."  
  
Hope rolled her eyes and put her gun back in its place at the small of her back. "She would abandon us right after she said something like that." Finding Duo staring at her, she glared at him. "What?"  
  
"You're Heero's twin?" Duo asked incredulously.  
  
"Yeah. He's my aniki." Hope said grinning, and going over to give Heero a hug. Her brother allowed himself to indulge in holding her tightly, closing his eyes and hugging her close. Then he held her away from himself and reverted back to his soldier attitude.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"What do you think? I'm going to give you information; that's what. And if you tell me it's too dangerous, I'll punch you." Hope warned her brother, entirely serious. "All I have to do is talk to the animals inside the base, there's bound to be mice or cats or something in there that I can reach. That way you won't have to guess where the mobile suits are or when the enemy is coming."  
  
Heero sighed, the soldier in him knew it was a good plan, it would keep injury and mortality rates low. He just didn't want his sister in danger.  
  
Hope rolled her prussian blue eyes and sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll stay here. I suppose my Gift can reach from here."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea," Fiona interrupted, back from her food excursion with Sheila sitting by her feet. Suddenly the girl got a strange look in her green-blue eyes. "That's it, the scientists were pedophiles." Fiona said.  
  
Everyone looked at her blankly.  
  
"Just look at all the guys. They have girls following them around everywhere, I've seen it. And us girls? Destiny and Faith are exotic, Angel's flashy, Mercy is elegantly beautiful and Hope always has a new boyfriend..." Fiona let the sentence hang, letting everyone digest what she was thinking.  
  
"And you're just you." Destiny said.  
  
"Correct." Fiona grinned. "They couldn't have picked better if they tried, which convinces me that they did."  
  
Faith gave an inelegant snort. "If you try to remember that far back, our looks gave us more trouble than we needed. You might remember a couple years worth of lessons in all forms of seduction."  
  
"Well I was the only one who had to mix that with lessons of deportment and ballroom dancing. There's a bit of difference between a waltz and harem dancing!" Fiona exclaimed.  
  
"You had to learn... what?" Heero asked quietly, giving a killer death glare.  
  
"Um... would it make you feel better if I told you I never used it?" Hope asked hesitantly.  
  
"I can't believe those old geezers..." Duo growled angrily, it wasn't fair to make the girls do things like that....  
  
"How unjust!" Wufei exclaimed, angry at the thought of such a thing.  
  
"It was good planning but ineffective. We never used it except for me, because I had the most contact with the enemy." Fiona said, shrugging. "And that was only flirting."  
  
"Still..." Duo protested.  
  
"It's a girl's lot in life." Fiona said, shaking her head at him.  
  
"You'll have to forgive her. With her 'curse' Fiona's become rather jaded to the world..." Hope explained.  
  
"Especially males." Faith added.  
  
"Well you're not really ones to talk are you?" Fiona said angrily then developed a guilty expression. "Sorry."  
  
At Quatre's questioning look, Angel clarified. "With their pasts, the girls are a bit... biased on the subject of the male gender."  
  
"Or just the human species in general." Faith muttered under her breath.  
  
"You know...We could use Blade here." Angel said, looking at Fiona to see how she reacted to the mention of his name.  
  
"He's too far away." The other woman said curtly, as she stroked Sheila's slightly rough coat.  
  
"That's an excuse and you know it." Destiny argued  
  
"...We don't have time to wait for him to get here before we attack." Fiona said, her voice indicating that the discussion had better be over or there would be dire consequences.  
  
Duo was about to cut in curiously but Angel gave him a look and shook her head minutely. Now wasn't the time to talk of such things, Angel seemed to be saying and Duo listened.  
  
Looking at Fiona's eyes, and they way they were guarded, Destiny let it go. For now. Now I know something happened between you and my brother. It will only be a matter of time before I find out what.  
  
'Be careful with this, it might just come back and burn you.' Faith's mind voice warned.  
  
They both deserve to be happy and I'm not going to stop matchmaking them until they're together. Destiny replied, obstinately. Her purple eyes met Faith's and held until the jade-eyed woman was certain of her conviction.  
  
'Just go gently. Fiona's very stubborn about remaining just friends with Blade. And he won't go against her wishes, she's too important to him for him to even think about that.' Faith said and then her presence was gone.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
(1) Aniki - What someone would call their twin or someone very close to their heart. --Japanese.  
  
Siren Alecto: Well that was fast.  
  
Eiryn: Yes, I know I'm good. All mistakes and bad parts are your fault.  
  
Siren Alecto: Did your boyfriend dump you or something?  
  
Eiryn: NANI?!  
  
Siren Alecto: I just posted the 4th chapter and today I finished this one. He must have dumped you or you wouldn't be here working on this with me.  
  
Eiryn: You... you... ARG! I don't BELIEVE you, saying that!  
  
Siren Alecto: But it's true.  
  
Eiryn: ::screams in rage and chases Siren Alecto around in circles, trying to get close enough to kill her::  
  
Siren Alecto: Remember to review! 


	6. Infighting

#The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I? 

Author's note: CHAPTER NUMBER 6! Finally! Sorry about the shortness of it, though…

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto

Chapter 6 - Infighting

"Ok, now that everyone is here; let's get down to business." Fiona said curtly, unrolling building plans onto a convenient table. "You'll split into two teams, one to cut power and the other to secure the leader. You'll enter here and here; and travel along your own route." Fiona pointed out air ducts and ventilation shafts. Glancing up from the plans she gave everyone a measuring stare. "I want you to fight dirty on this one, I don't care if you don't believe in it, I don't care if it's not your style; **_it's safe_**, and you're outnumbered. Got it?" The brunette waited until everyone nodded to continue. "The Lady's Preventers will be surrounding the base from outside so when you've captured the leader, radio then to bust in to place the soldiers under arrest." Handing out communication units that were about the size of the average thumb, Fiona watched as her dear friends and new comrades clipped them into their clothing. "Any questions?"

"Can I have the leader to play with?" Angel asked, an evil smile on her face. "You could join in too, of course." The redhead said, nodding to Destiny.

Fiona rubbed her temples to stave off a migraine. "As much as I hate to say this, you can't. It would turn him into a martyr, and we REALLY don't want that to happen. Trust me. He'll get justice, just not the kind you want for him."

Purple eyes burning coldly with fury, Destiny stalked over to a window, clenching her fist into the light fabric of the drape. Looking equally furious, Angel started to bristle with energy but with a glance from Fiona, she let it go. Faith just looked more resigned than angry, as if she knew that her old master wasn't hers to punish. It was up to the government all the soldiers had worked to install, now.

"So," Fiona said, clapping her hands, "Who wants to be in what group?"

"I'll take out power." Angel sighed, and her companions looked at her strangely. "What? I'm not the best fighter, and I don't have a great offensive power so I'm not needed in the main group."

"We know that." Destiny said dryly. "We just never thought you'd be the one to say it." A second later, a cushion that previously was lying on the couch next to Angel was tossed at Destiny's face. Smirking slightly, the raven-haired woman waited until the cushion was an inch or two from her face before it went flying in another direction, as if smacked by an unseen hand.

Hilde's blue eyes were wide in shock, as well as Quatre's. In fact, it wasn't possible for their eyes to **_get_** any wider than they already were.

Rolling her green eyes, Faith grabbed the pillow and tossed it back to its place on the couch. "Are you quite finished now?"

"They won't be finished fighting until after they're dead, and even then I think they'd argue." Fiona interjected wryly.

"Hn." Heero snorted quietly over in the corner with only Hope to overhear him. 

"Oh, you'd be surprised at how much work we get done," His twin said, her eyes twinkling in merriment. "It just doesn't seem like it right now."

Heero replied by just raising an eyebrow, as if to say, "We'll just see about that."

"Who else wants to be in the power group?" Fiona asked, trying to get everyone back on track.

"I'll go." Duo reached over and messed up Angel's hair. "Gotta take care of my sis, you know."

Poking her brother in the chest Angel glared playfully at him. "And when I'm the one who saves **your** ass, what're you gonna say, hmm?"

"I don't need you to look after me, k? I've been trained for years and that won't happen..."

"Wait, who's the one who got caught and thrown in prison? Twice if I remember correctly."

"That was Trowa who got me, dammit. He's a Gundam Pilot."

Fiona looked at the Duo in amusement. "There's a slight difference though... **we **were never caught by the enemy."

"Gundam Pilot, or no." Angel added smugly.

"Can we get down to business?" Faith asked in an exasperated manner.

Fiona worried her bottom lip before speaking out again. "Are you two sure you'll be ok with just the two of you in your group?"

Duo and Angel flashed similar grins and Angel gave a little shrug at the lack of trust her teammate had in her. "Don't worry! We had to use stealth in our real lives so by now, it'll be drilled in."

"We used to have real lives?" Destiny arched a slender brow at Angel in dry humor.

"Yes. Before our training, aka our real lives." Angel propped herself on the armrest of one of the giant comfy chairs. "Granted, it wasn't much of a real life; but it still counts."

"We can reminisce about all of that later." Hope said, speaking up from the background. "Right now you all have a job to do and a limited time to do it. Good luck." 

With tension radiating from the group, the soldiers who were leaving filed out of the house and bickered themselves into car arrangements. Standing on her front porch Fiona prayed for her friends to get back safely, as she knew her companions were doing. 

The sounds of talking faded as the doors shut and car engines came to life, carrying some of the most elite warriors the Universe has ever seen to their next mission and battlefield.

"That's it, they're gone." Hilde sighed and glanced at Fiona out of the corner of her eye. "So what do we do now?"

"We try to keep ourselves busy so we don't go insane worrying about them," The brunette answered candidly. "So," she put an arm around Quatre and Hilde, turning them back inside the house with Hope and Sheila trailing along behind. "Who's up for a couple rounds of Truth or Dare?"

"Who's Blade?"

"Huh?" Faith started, jerking round to face whoever was speaking to her.

Wufei sighed impatiently, "I asked you, woman, who is Blade?"

"Blade is Destiny's only surviving brother. He also happens to be the man who loves Fiona." Faith answered, ignoring Wufei's rudeness.

"I thought that was most men," Duo said, cutting in to the conversation.

"Yes but Fiona loves Blade back. Or she feels something towards him that she doesn't towards the others." Faith's eyes shifted piercingly back to Wufei. "What's your interest?"

"I respect her and can sense that she has honor, which is unusual in a woman. I wanted to know who you were trying to set her up with." 

"Honor is unusual in a **_person_**. It's just as unlikely to be found in men as it is to be found in women." Faith replied scathingly. "And as far as Blade's concerned, he's one of the best men I know."

"Injustice! You know nothing of what you speak of! Men have far more honor than women --" The Chinese man's face reddened as he started his rant.

"For this slight to my honor, I challenge you. Your clan **_did_** teach you the martial arts, did they not?" Faith sneered at him.

"Fine, woman. I will humor you. When all of this is over, we will have a match."

Not bothering to hide his sniggers at the two of them, Duo was smiling away in the driver's seat. _Those two have passion all right. They'll combust when they get together, and I don't doubt that they will. _Of course, Duo thought this **very** quietly; for fear that Faith would hear it and retaliate.

Siren Alecto: Sorry this chapter took so long to come out... my muse eloped and went on a honeymoon without telling me. When she came back she brought all these new ides, which would be "Left Behind" and "Time Warp".

Eiryn: I did no such thing! ::hides her left hand behind her back:: And I worked your hand off, making up for my absence didn't I? I might take another short break to regroup but you'll still be working sporadically.

Siren Alecto: What about this piece?! 

Eiryn: We'll work on it. More than you're used to working on anything, anyway. Which reminds me. Minna, if you have any questions, comments, ect. Be sure to review and feel free to e-mail this slacker of a writer. Or im her if you like. 


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